Getting sick, struggling academically and facing mental health issues are all reasons that students might choose to withdraw from a semester. If they did so after the fourth week of classes, none of their tuition would’ve been refunded.

In the past, these students may have been unable to receive a refund on their tuition. Now, Binghamton University is offering tuition insurance that can help them recoup the costs of tuition, as well as the costs of room and board.

At the start of this academic year, BU partnered with GradGuard, a tuition protection plan from Allianz insurance company, which offers insurance to both undergraduate and graduate students. Students who pay a fee by the first day of each semester will be refunded their tuition, room and board and other fees if they need to withdraw. More than 100 colleges and universities across the nation have partnered with GradGuard, including all of SUNY’s university centers.

The company offers three plans that cost between $100 and $200 per semester. Different plans offer different levels of protection, from partial to full tuition recovery. The Preferred Plan, which refunds up to 100 percent of tuition, fees and room and board in cases of illness, injury or death and up to 80 percent of tuition for students facing mental health challenges, is the company’s most popular option.

Students without insurance will be charged tuition and fees if they withdraw for any reason following the fourth week of the semester. In fall 2017, 48 students signed up and 41 have signed up for spring 2018. Coverage isn’t available for summer and winter sessions because of their short length.

Susan Kirwan, director of student accounts, said BU chose to partner with GradGuard after viewing its presentation at a National Association of College and University Business Officers conference in August 2017. According to Kirwan, many students withdraw each semester due to unforeseeable circumstances, including mental health issues, which factored into the University’s decision to offer the insurance.

“The University is really just saying this company can help you,” Kirwan said. “We have no horse in the race here — this is really just to provide you with something extra that you can pay for.”

Qiana Watson, a case management coordinator in the BU Dean of Students Office, said 176 students withdrew from the University last year due to medical reasons, and that there are about 150 to 200 medical withdrawals per year.

According to Kirwan, GradGuard is one of the few tuition insurance providers that offers voluntary sign-up for this program rather than an opt-out system, in which students are automatically billed for the coverage.

“The other company required us to do an opt-out program, which meant we’d have to charge every student and the student would have remove it, and I don’t like those things,” Kirwan said. “You have to pay attention, and for something that can only cost $99 you might just think it’s another fee on your bill.”

According to a GradGuard spokesman, students whose universities don’t offer tuition insurance for coverage will pay a higher fee than students at partner schools.

Ian Foley, a sophomore double-majoring in biology and economics, said he doesn’t plan to buy the insurance, but sees it as a reliable option for others.

“I personally wouldn’t consider buying it,” Foley said. “But I think that it’s a great idea for those that feel they would need it.”

Emma Northrup, a sophomore majoring in biomedical engineering, said the insurance might help relieve some financial burden on students and their families.

“Paying for health care after an unexpected injury or illness is very costly, especially on top of paying for school,” Northrup said. “So knowing that the insurance program can help with that will definitely ease the financial stress felt in those medical situations.”